En Suramérica: Climbing Cotopaxi

Hola compañeros!

Hope the first real days of summer are treating everyone well. We've found ourselves very much enjoying our time here in Quito, so we've decided that we may just stay a few extra days. Before arriving here I had read about Mt. Cotopaxi- one of the active stratovolcanoes in Ecuador and it's just an hour and a half away from Quito. Most of the information I had read told me that climbing to the summit was challenging, but technically not too difficult, so I became immediately intrigued. I've done a lot of research on the volcano, and every source seems to be saying something different. Some say it's the highest active volcano in the world, others say the second, others the third. Nevertheless it's the second-highest peak in Ecuador at 5,897 meters or 19,374 feet, and a national monument. The shape of the volcano is a nearly symmetrical cone, and it apparently can be seen from the Quito skyline. Unfortunately I haven't yet been able to see it as most days here are fairly cloudy. Click HERE for more info.

After looking into several climbing tour options I was a bit discouraged to find it was expensive to find a guide, gear, and everything else we would need. However on Monday we stopped in a shop off the street to ask about the Cotopaxi tour and prices. The sales rep offered us a price that was nearly impossible to turn down, especially compared to those I found online.

Gladiz (sales rep) told us we needed to be acclimated in order to even consider the climb, and that a few days in Quito wasn't enough, so she recommended we take the teleferico up toward Pichincha (stratovolcano overlooking Quito) and hike up as far as we can in order to test out the altitude. We did so on Tuesday, but unfortunately didn't make it to the peak due to a hail storm that moved in fast. After hiking for a bit we stopped to talk with Gladiz and told her everything felt okay and we felt prepared for Cotopaxi. We booked the tour then and there and were told we had to meet the guide the next day, Wednesday, at 9 AM.

Finally 9 AM Wednesday rolled around and we were packed and ready to go. Unfortunately Adi had been feeling a bit under the weather and went to the doctor to get permission to do the climb. About an hour and a few pills later, she was ready and we were enroute to Cotopaxi. Patricio, our guide, picked us up in his janky Mitsubishi truck from the 90's and we drove about 2 hours before arriving at the base of the volcano. From where he parked the car we had to hike up 300 meters, which felt a lot longer at that altitude, to the refuge which sits at 4,800 meters. The refuge was a welcoming cabin that sleeps up to 80 people and has an incredible view of the national park surrounding the volcano. We arrived in the early afternoon and were nearly forced to drink tea and water for the next few hours. There were 11 other travelers total in the refuge also preparing to make the trek. Adi and I of course were the youngest, and she was the only girl attempting to summit the peak.

The afternoon passed quickly. At 5:30 PM dinner was served. It consisted of a delicious chicken and rosemary soup followed by a hefty portion of chicken breast with mushrooms, steamed carrots, and mashed potatoes. All was accompanied, of course, with more tea, water, and a dried-out yellow cake topped with strawberry yogurt for dessert. Delicious. 6:00 PM: dinner was finished, another cup of tea, a few trips to the bathroom (seriously, lots of tea and water, but at least I was hydrated), and off to bed. We were to wake up sometime around midnight to prepare ourselves and head towards the summit.

Unfortunately I didn't sleep a wink. Tossed and turned all night, waiting to finally fall asleep, but instead 11:30 PM arrived before I was even feeling tired. We got up, got dressed- 5 layers of shirts and jackets on top and 3 layers of pants, hats, gloves, etc. and packed everything up. "Ate breakfast", I guess you can say, at midnight which consisted of a few cups of tea, yogurt with granola, and toast. Once everything was ready we turned on our headlamps and headed out into the cold, dark night. The wind was blowing like crazy and it was snowing. I was surprisingly excited to see the snow- it's been months since I've seen/experienced it.

The first few hundred meters of the hike would be through the volcanic rock and sand before we arrived to the glacier. Temperature was bearable, but the wind and snow were definitely going to be a challenge to endure. After a good 45 minutes of trudging through the snow/ice/rock mixture, we arrived at the base of the glacier. The Cotopaxi Glacier is one of the only equitorial glaciers in the world and happens to play a pretty important role in the livelihood of the surrounding areas. Meltwaters of the glacier provide freshwater for the people and for industrial reasons, and furthermore it provides a source of energy for the huge city of Quito. Click HERE for some more info.

At the base of the glacier we stopped to fasten our crampons to our hiking boots. Crampons are attached to the bottom of the hiking boot to improve traction in snow and ice. They are about one inch in depth and proved to be very helpful. We proceeded on the glacier for another half hour or so before reaching more loose snow which made the trekking even more difficult. Finally we were forced to stop again and tie ourselves together with climbing rope that would attach to the harnesses. At this point the wind was blowing even harder and the snow was turning to sleet and slapping hard against my face. Every piece of clothing and gear I had was slowly becoming coated in ice.

After about 30 minutes of walking with the rope Adi's back started to bother her and she decided to turn back in order to avoid any possibility of injury. Luckily at this point we had passed a guide with one climber who wanted to turn back as well. They began the trek back to the refuge at about 5,100 meters and Patricio and I carried on. At this point we were pretty far behind the rest of the climbers so we had a lot of catching up to do. Patricio insisted we continue with a hefty pace, and after another hour or so we had passed two of the groups and nearly caught up to the first one.

The rest of the climb we continued to endure the brutal gusts of wind and sleet. There were three points in which we had to scale a vertical wall of ice and snow- Patricio ahead as I followed. By 5 AM we were nearing the summit, still trekking through the pitch dark, the sleet and wind only getting worse. Finally we passed the first group and took the lead with about 45 minutes left to the top. At this point the sun was starting to come up and we only had one steep pass left before we would arrive at the summit. The last five minutes were pretty incredible- right as we approached the final slope the clouds started to part and it began to get bright out. When we arrived on top I could immediately feel the heat from the sun. Such a rewarding moment to make it to the top and be able to see the spectacular view of the "Avenue of Volcanoes". Unfortunately I was only able to snap a few pictures due to the wind which was even worse at the summit, and the clouds moved in and out so quickly that the view went in and out of sight every few seconds.

Needless to say, this was quite the experience. I've never accomplished anything so challenging and rewarding. Very happy I had the opportunity to climb Cotopaxi and very much looking forward to other climbing opportunities that may present themselves over the rest of the trip.

At the entrance to the national park